Chicago Cubs Acquire Star Reliever in Trade With Cleveland Guardians

The Chicago Cubs have made their first major move of the offseason, trading for a star reliever from the Cleveland Guardians.

Oct 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Eli Morgan (49) pitches against the New York Yankees in the fifth inning during game four of the ALCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Last winter, it took the Chicago Cubs a while to make a Major League roster addition.

That resulted in them missing out on some of their key targets who could have helped them potentially contend for an NL Central title and playoff spot this past season.

This year, the Cubs aren't waiting around.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Chicago has traded for Eli Morgan of the Cleveland Guardians, a deal that brings an elite reliever into the mix early this offseason.

The Cubs have had a poor bullpen the last few years, and despite knowing that unit was a weakness following their late-season collapse in 2023, the front office didn't do enough to overhaul that group ahead of this past campaign which ultimately hurt their chances of playing in October.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer admitted he let the team down in that area, and now he is looking to make amends immediately.

Morgan is a great addition for Chicago.

During his four-year tenure with the Guardians, the right-hander has posted a 3.97 ERA and 104 ERA+ across his 161 outings and 19 starts that spanned 265.1 innings pitched.

He's also coming off the best season of his career with a 1.93 ERA and sizzling 212 ERA+ in 32 relief appearances. This was marred only by two separate stints on the injured list because of right shoulder and elbow inflammation.

No information has been revealed at the time of writing about who the Cubs gave up to get him, so it's hard to assess who got the better end of this deal.

But, with him being arbitration eligible for the first time this season, Chicago has now added a cost controlled asset in their bullpen who is coming off the best performance of his career which is exactly what they needed.